For a vehicle body plate or the like of a body of an automobile, two vehicle body plates are laminated in some cases. In such a case, even when the accuracy of each of the vehicle body plates to be laminated is within a tolerance range, a gap is formed between an end portion of one of the vehicle body plates and a surface of the other vehicle body plate due to combined allowable errors. If the gap remains opened, there is a problem that the part gets rusty, or the appearance is impaired when the gap can be seen from the outside of the vehicle body. Therefore, the gap is coated with a sealing agent to prevent the rust and improve the appearance.
An example of a coating apparatus which applies liquid material, such as a sealing agent, to an object to be coated includes, for example, a coating apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, the coating apparatus comprising: a nozzle unit provided with a nozzle; and a nozzle rotation mechanism which rotates the nozzle unit. In Patent Literature 1, even when the direction of a surface to be coated is changed, the nozzle rotation mechanism rotates the nozzle unit to discharge the liquid material from the nozzle while the posture of the nozzle is maintained such that the center line of the nozzle is perpendicular to the surface to be coated.